International HR leader joins Hambleton business

A Stokesley-based professional development training business has teamed up with one of the UK’s leading authorities on HR to assist with its courses.

Bespoke Professional Development and Training (BePro) has started working with Michael Millward from Abeceder, a leading international HR management consultancy based in Leeds.

Mr Millward, who recently spent six years as chairman of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) in North Yorkshire and works all over the world with companies, has joined forces with BePro to head the CIPD courses in human resources which the company is now deliverig in the centre of York for the first time.

Throughout his career, Mr Millward Michael has worked with a range of organisations from SMEs and start-ups to blue chip multinational, e-commerce, Government and not-for-profit sectors in the UK and Europe as well as abroad in countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Cambodia.

BePro, accredited to some of the highest industry standards, is headed up by mother and daughter team, Val Swales and Georgina Selmi from Great Broughton near Stokesley, who provide tailored and flexible professional development qualifications. Over the last two years the business has continually grown and, earlier this year, expanded into York city centre thanks to a major demand for its services from people in the area.

In addition, BePro has also received prestigious accreditation by the CIPD making it one of the highest accredited in the Teesside and North Yorkshire areas.

Having previously worked with a partner to offer CIPD courses, BePro now has the high profile accreditation to deliver both intermediate and foundation level qualifications, after passing the CIPD’s stringent approval process and meeting with its high standards.

As well as its range of CIPD courses at York St John University, BePro also delivers courses at Teesside University in Middlesbrough, BePro’s HQ at Terry Dicken Business Park in Stokesley and at various individual business premises, with flexible training options and highly experienced tutor provision at foundation level 3 and intermediate level 5 in human resources.

Georgina and her team of tutors have many years’ experience in delivering professional development training at colleges and universities throughout the North East and North Yorkshire.

Georgina said: “Our exceptionally high levels of professional development training have been very well received all over Teesside and North Yorkshire, so much so that we realised we needed to take on another, very experienced HR professional. Michael is the ideal fit for our business as he has vast experience and complements our existing team. He is a real boost to BePro as we move on with our growth across the region.”

Michael Millward has decades of experience in offering employment related products and services to managers to provide employee management solutions to solve a range of issues. His company, Abeceder, is a multi-function employee management company that provides information, products, services and expertise related to employee management to companies in the UK and internationally.

Speaking about joining BePro, Michael said: “I am very pleased to have been invited by BePro to help them deliver CIPD qualification courses. I have enjoyed seeing how they make learning fun which is, I believe, an important part of learning.

“Ever since I established Abeceder in 2004, and during my six years as volunteer chair of the CIPD North Yorkshire branch, I have promoted the need for businesses of all types and sizes to have professional HR management support. By working with BePro to provide these CIPD courses in York, we are making it very easy for local businesses to gain access to the professional development the person responsible for HR management needs to be able to add value to a business.”

The CIPD praised BePro for its ongoing growth, saying, “We are delighted to award BePro with accreditation to deliver foundation and intermediate qualifications in human resources. We are sure that this will be a solid centre and are extremely impressed with the team’s enthusiasm whilst maintaining quality and high standards. BePro’s flexibility in offering what’s required for the market is commendable and their rapport with their students and willingness to support development is highly evident.”

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